A digital recording device allows a user to record media programs and to play back the media programs at times that are convenient for the user. In a typical viewing scenario, the user can review a listing of programs that have been recorded. The user can select one of these programs for presentation, upon which the program will begin to play.
Assume that the user wishes to watch another program after the first-selected program has ended. To perform this task, the user can repeat the above selection operations. Namely, the user can activate a listing of programs that have been recorded. The user can then select another program for viewing. In general, in order to watch a series of programs, the user must explicitly select each of the programs after its predecessor has ended (or has been expressly stopped by the user).
This manner of interacting with a digital recording device can be potentially time-consuming and cumbersome. For at least this reason, there is a need in the art for a more satisfactory mechanism for playing back media programs.